15 Dogs by Andre Alexis

Two gods walk into a bar and start talking about whether or not animals – any animals – would be as unhappy as humans if they had human intelligence and language, so they make a bet that any animals they give human intelligence and language will all die unhappy. The nearest animals are 15 dogs in a veterinary office, and that’s who they gift these powers to. What happens next is the plot of the book 15 Dogs by Andre Alexis and if you’re still with me then I highly recommend it. Particularly if you like dogs. It is heavy at times, philosophical on every other page or so, and revealing. as with all great fables – Animal Farm, Charlotte’s Web, Isle of Dogs – the author is able to show us more about ourselves through personification than through actual humans. And you’ll want to spend a little more time with man’s best friends. – Fred Avett

LISTENS

Mitski (live at The Fox!)

This past weekend, Mitski played three shows at the Fox Theater in downtown Atlanta. I have been a fan of Mitski since I first heard about her on social media in 2020-2021, but I really got into her music in 2022. So, when I heard she was going on tour for her most recent album, The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We, I begged my mom to go. Luckily, she was able to get us tickets for the Friday show, and it was one of the best concerts I’ve been to. Mitski is truly an artist, and her performance reflects that. Her music is so thoughtful, with well thought out lyrics and intent. Seeing these songs live changed me. I was crying three songs in. The set list was also incredible. To me, every song she played was a 10 out of 10. The transitions from certain songs also added to the emotion of the show. My favorite was the transition from “I Bet on Losing Dogs” to “Thursday Girl” into “Geyser.” I was sobbing. Additionally, the stage set-up was simple, but it didn’t need to be highly decorated. Mitski’s use of lighting and choreography was enough. Throughout the show, Mitski used interpretive choreography and lighting to express emotions and intent. At one point, she danced around a spotlight, almost as if this spotlight is a person. It was truly a beautiful performance. I am not exaggerating when I say my life was changed. – Noa Zilber

Flawed Mangoes

Sometimes, there comes a day when you just want to do nothing. That’s really when life hits you in your feels. After asking and pondering around, one particular suggestion by my friend Tri stood out: listen to Flawed Mangoes. At first, I had never heard of the name. However, any song by the mangoes will get you thinking about life. Every song gave me a holistic and cohesive feel, like all of your emotions flooding in at once. If there’s one song that particularly helped me reflect on my past and what led to where I am now, it was Killswitch Lullaby. There are also some other good songs like Dramamine and Birdsong. Stream my favorite album from the mangoes here. – Tommy Liang

My Top 5 Favorite Songs Right Now

This past week, I have been obsessed with a lot of songs. I decided to give some song suggestions for everyone and I will explain why I like each song.  At number five, we have “Are You The One” by Basement. I really liked this song at the end of last year and I recently remembered it. The chorus, beat, and guitar are very catchy. It has been stuck in my head and I love the vocals as well. Number four is “Carnival” by Bikini Kill. The “round, round, round” part scratches my brain so well. Every time I listen to the song I have to start dancing. The only downside is that the song is a bit short, so that is why it is not up higher. For the top three, we’re starting off with “The Love I Lost” by Fried by Fluoride. Yet again, the chorus has been stuck in my head ever since I heard it. I really love the voice effects in this song and how simple yet well-produced it is. At number two we have “Becky” by Be Your Own Pet. This song has been a favorite of mine for a long time. Every part of this song is so catchy in its own way. The lyrics are great, the singing is amazing, and the harmonies and instruments sound so good. I love this song so much. However, the reason that it’s not number one is because “Mrahc” by Title Fight stole my heart this week. I have loved this song for a long time, but I recently tried learning it on guitar. Ever since I did, it has been stuck in my head. The guitar part is really beautiful, and the singing on this song is amazing. I can listen to this song on repeat and not get bored of it. Overall, these songs are all great, and I believe people should check them out. – Sasha Lapayeva

Anything Goes podcast

Jimi Hendrix

One thing that’s been on my mind lately is Jimi Hendrix. Already one of the greatest guitarists ever, he would’ve been so much more if is time wasn’t cut so short. Jimi Hendrix only really became popular the last 2 years of his career, from ’67 to ’69, and he only had three studio albums and one live album. The pure fact that he’s regarded as one of the greatest of all time is incredible, given he only really did it all in two years, before he died at 27. Songs such as Hey Joe, Manic Depression, and Foxey Lady are all melodic masterpieces, experimentally breaking boundaries of what rock was then. Arguably his greatest song, All Along the Watchtower, isn’t even his song, it was a cover of a Bob Dylan song with the same name. He performed it so incredibly that Bob Dylan public stated, it wasn’t his song anymore, it was Jimi Hendrix’s. My favorite album of his is his third, Electric Ladyland. His music is everywhere, you can still see patterns of his music in a lot of indie bands, as well as rock. – Miles Forshay

The Clash

I have recently been listening to The Clash, a rock band from England that started in the 70’s. They have contributed heavily to punk genres and movements. Some of their most popular hits are “Should I Stay or Should I Go,” “Rock the Casbah,” and “London Calling.” Their album London Calling was put on Apple Music’s 100 Best Albums and it is an amazing album. It has over an hour of music and is my favorite album by them. Some of the songs I have been listening to a lot recently are “English Civil War” and “London Calling.” They are a popular band, but I will still recommend giving them a listen. – Juliet Gonzalez

Morgan Wallen

When I tell people that I’m a huge country music fan, a surprisingly large number of people have responded with something like “I hate country, especially Morgan Wallen.” Wallen is one of my favorite artists of all time, but I’ve only found a few who share that opinion. Why??? Yes, he has a drinking problem and has said a few racial slurs and thrown a chair or two off a window, but let’s leave all that out of the equation and focus on his music. Most people develop their opinion on Wallen through the songs that they hear on mainstream radio, like “Cowgirls”, “Thinkin’ Bout Me”, and, the not at all overplayed “Last Night”. As a huge Wallen fan, here’s my opinion on those songs: They’re terrible. And if you’re opinion of him is based only on those songs, then you need to expand your understanding of Wallen as a musician. It feels like he releases a record full of amazing songs, but with a few exceptions, and for whatever reason, it seems like his record label picks those exceptions to play on the radio. If you listen to the entire album, you’ll hear songs that are sound better, and are lyrically better than the songs you’ll hear on the radio. I guess my final argument is that Wallen isn’t trying to be anyone he’s not, unlike literally everyone else in music. He writes almost all of his songs, and they’re all an accurate representation of the small town he grew up in. He doesn’t try to pretend that he’s the coolest person in the world (DJ Khaled…). He’s just a redneck from Tennessee, and he owns up to that. Go stream his entire new(ish) album on Spotify here and maybe even follow him on Instagram here. – Maven Bolick

THINGS

Duolingo

Duolingo has been called many things over the years: evil, annoying, frustrating, possessed by a demon, and more. These aren’t entirely inaccurate, but they don’t tell the full story. Duolingo is the ideal language learning app, and not just because the green owl is currently holding my family hostage. Duolingo is notorious online for pestering users to start or maintain their streaks (The amount of days in a row one has logged on to Duolingo and practiced the language they are learning), and this pestering is seen in a largely negative light. What those who criticize Duolingo don’t seem to realize is that learning a language takes consistent practice or else you will lose the skills you’ve gained, so Duolingo’s reminders are clearly helpful. Another positive of learning a language on Duolingo is the community aspect. The leaderboards (which show how many xp points you’ve gained in a period of time) allow users to compete, further encouraging language learning, as well as a sense of community. Another community aspect is the ability to follow other users. When two users follow each other they become friends and are able to complete quests together to further their language learning goals! If harassment via email is necessary to get to use this site and learn German, so be it!  – Maren Merkel

Digital Cameras
It’s funny how my obsession with digital cameras has honestly gotten insane. I LOVE DIGITAL CAMERAS! I’m not a professional at using digital cameras but I love getting great angles, lowering the ISO or the exposure. It’s fun to play with every option. Although some of the best cameras are super expensive and some are over $1,000 dollars, if you are willing to learn and take beautiful pictures you should go for it. For instance, the Canon SX740 is currently $720. However, there are many cameras that are just $100. I have a camera that I got off of Amazon and it was only $40. Obviously the camera quality isn’t the same and you honestly need to mess with the settings to get a great shot. Nonetheless it’s worth it and I saved almost $800. Cameras and taking pictures have been so much fun for me over this year and it’s just fun to see the different lightings. Not only that but you can keep memories that last forever. Now I want to answer a question that has always gone through my mind: why do we have the need to take photos and videos of everything. Here’s what I think I think part of it has something to do with this fear of losing a memory, we’re afraid of a magical moment in our lives happening and us not having a permanent version of it in the form of a photo out of this sort of uncomfortable fear that if we don’t get it in photo/video version then it’ll be gone forever.  – Ashley Chay Chay

Jansport Backpacks

This week you should be obsessing over Jansport backpacks. If your backpack isn’t a Jansport then what are you doing? Jansport bags have lasted me years and I swear they expand like the hat from “Cat and the Hat.” I have fit notebooks for all seven classes, a computer, my headphones, food, and pencils everyday. I got my Jansport bag in 8th grade and it is still holding strong. I’m not gonna lie, I got a new one this year but only because I wanted a different color. But even though I got a new one, I still use my other one for other things like travels and sleepovers. Jansport bags are not expensive like the North Face ones that everyone has. Get yourself a new bag this week and make it Jansport. – Kira Lawson

EATS & DRINKS

Water

This week, I have been addicted to drinking water. Water is important whether you like it or not but there are times when water tastes fresh and tasty. Especially during practice, that’s when water tastes so delicious. Although the school water is controversial when it comes to its taste, it really is the most adequate to drink when I try to wake myself up for first-period math class or trying to stay awake in my third-period ELA class. When I am dozing off, I take a sip of my water to wake me up. When I am bored, I drink water. I used to dislike water and would only drink juice. But I slowly came to appreciate water after my freshman year when I would only finish half a bottle a day. But a little side effect to that is my weak bladder does not hold up. Aside from that, water is beneficial in every aspect, it wakes me up and it can be accompanied by almost anything. I myself think that the best time to drink water is when you wake up in the middle of the night and you are thirsty for anything, water is the best thing to quench that thirst. Whether that is during a test and you need a memory boost or if your stomach is on the verge of rumbling in front of the class, water is my go-to! DRINK WATUH! – Teresita Bartolon Trujillo

$8 Cheesesteaks

Every weekend for the past 2 months, a couple friends and I have gone to Perimeter Mall, and every single time I’ve gotten the cheesesteak at Gyros and Wings in the food court. As a part of their weekend special,  you can get a whole foot-long cheesesteak for just 8 bucks. The sandwich comes with grilled sirloin, onions, mushrooms, white american cheese, and peppers on a hoagie roll. It’s a great deal for such a filling and good tasting meal. So good in fact that I refuse to try anything else in the food court. – Michael Bryant

SabaRaba

My family and I were looking for a new restaurant a few weeks ago. If you live in Chamblee/Brookhaven long enough, the restaurants start to get old, which is when we came across SabaRaba in Chamblee. If you know where Southbound is, down the street from Bluetop, SabaRaba is right there. This is a small Mediterranean restaurant with delicious falafel, shwarma, and bowls. When I went, I ordered an Areyes, which was like a little fried pocket of meat and this amazing frozen basil limeade drink. Honestly everything there is fantastic, so you can’t go wrong. I highly recommend mixing up your weekly eats and trying out SabaRaba! – Ellie Owens

Big D’s

I recently went to a barbeque place, Big D’s, with my dad, my friend, and his dad. It had the best beef brisket I’ve ever had, for the meat was salty enough, but not too fatty. I also really enjoyed their pulled pork, and their macaroni and cheese was tasty, warm, and creamy.  Also, if you go between 4 and 5,  there will be barely any people there. It is open Tuesday through Saturdays from 8 a. m. to 8 p.m. (at least), though hours are shortened on the first weekend of the month (from 9 or 10 to 5 or 6). Though it is far away from Chamblee, if you ever are near Cumming or Dawsonville, it is definitely worth a visit.  – Jackson Lee

EXPERIENCES

Karaoke

Over the weekend, I went to my friend Omandee’s house for the first time ever. It was a really big deal because we have been friends for around 3 years now and I had never seen the inside of her house until then. To my surprise and astonishment, Omandee has a really fancy karaoke system with wireless mics and a really powerful speaker. We belted our hearts out, singing every song in the Mamma Mia sound track and playing blind karaoke, where one person turns around and the other plays a karaoke song. We both rediscovered our musical talents and had an incredible time reenacting the musical. I love karaoke! – Finley Malone

Tubing

I went to the Blue Ridge Mountains this weekend for my friend’s birthday, and we spent the day on Saturday at the lake. My favorite part of the whole trip was by far going tubing. Many of my friends go to the lake and go tubing fairly often; they always highly recommend it but I haven’t had the chance to go to the lake until this weekend. Now, I have a newfound love for the lake because of this experience. We rented a boat and hired a driver to drive the boat while we were on it; therefore he didn’t drive the boat as extremely while we were tubing for safety precautions. In the future, I hope I get the chance to go again but instead with a family member controlling the boat that can drive more aggressively. – Anna Kate Flood